The Giants went from exhilarated to exhausted overnight. But at least they're home.

After completing their astonishing Division Series comeback in Cincinnati on Thursday afternoon, the Gigantes had to sit around Ohio for a day and a half, waiting to find out which way to point the plane.

All that late drama sets up a debate going into the NLCS: Which comeback was better?

Was it the Giants winning three in a row, on the road, to come back from a two-game deficit to win the series? Or the Cardinals, down 6-0 in Game 5 of their NLDS, coming back to win it all in the 9th inning?

Nobody wearing a uniform was taking the bait at Saturday's light workout in San Francisco.

Cardinals manager Mike Mathenysaid, "We have a lot of respect for Bruce (Bochy) and the Giants and this club and what they have. And they have all the components you need for winning baseball, with the pitching and defense and offense that can run up some scores. So we understand that, but we're also very quick to look in the mirror and realize that we've got a pretty good club, too."

Bochy, the Giants manager, said: "Well, it's impressive what the Cardinals did. And really, if you look at the game we had and the game they had, they were similar. We were up 6-0, barely hung on, and they found a way to get it done. Both clubs at some point had their backs against the wall. We had to win three straight and they're down a couple of runs in the ninth. They found a way to get it done. I think it says a lot about the two clubs, the character of the clubs and how hard they fight, and it should be a really hard-fought series here."

Thanks, guys. Somebody should have asked Jim Harbaughto issue a statement on the matter.

From where this scribe sits, the vote goes to the Giants. They are the first team in National League history to go down two games to none in a five-game series, and then win three straight on the road. An astonishing accomplishment for which they should be applauded.

And let's face it: The Cardinals made their fantastic finish against a team that had already decided to wait until next year. You have to wonder what Stephen Strasburg, the young phenom who was shut down in September (he was on a strict inning count after surgery in 2011) and was not on the postseason roster, was thinking as he watched his team fade in the final inning.

Imagine if the Nationals had one more flamethrower to come in and get a crucial out or two. Imagine if they had a top-shelf starter to take the hill in Game 5 and shut the opponent down, as Justin Verlanderdid for the Detroit Tigers against the A's.

The Nationals will never know what would have happened. And we'll never know who had the crazier comeback: Giants or Cardinals. The great thing about this game is now we get to see which team is better, head to head.

Giants in six, it says here.

And now on to other topics of the day.

Dealing with case of A's withdrawal

Admit it. You're missing the A's already.

The lovable youngsters from the East Bay put on a late-season show nonpareil.

The Giants may have come back from a 2-0 hole in the NLDS, but the A's closed a five-game gap in the division with nine to play, winning the AL West outright. That's never been done in the history of baseball. Not even back when the guys had handlebar mustaches.

Simply put, it was a fabulous story.

For me, the enduring image of the A's postseason will be the fans chanting "Let's Go, Oakland!" for a good 10 minutes after their team had succumbed to Verlander and the Tigers. The players came out on the field and soaked in the adoration. There was a real connection between a team and a fan base that hasn't always been so close. But winning breeds love. And there was a lot of love in that decrepit old stadium.

After the game, Detroit manager Jim Leylandtalked about the rowdy crowd in the deciding game. "I told one of my coaches on the bench, 'We need a four-spot to take the crowd out of this game.' "

Unfortunately for Oakland, Leyland got his four-spot of runs. But the crowd never stopped cheering.

As the clubhouse was clearing out that night, I asked crowd-favorite closer Grant Balfourwhether he'd be heading back to his native Australia in the offseason.

"Nope," he said. "I live here now. I'm just going to take some time and start getting ready for next season."

West tutors Warriors' Thompson

Before the rest of the Bay Area gripped its way through a week of baseball playoff tension, the Warriors quietly started training camp in Oakland, hoping to take their first, tentative steps toward the playoffs and respectability.

Crucial to that end will be Klay Thompson, the sophomore guard with the sweet shooting stroke. Young Klay had a strong finish to his rookie season (12.5 ppg), but admittedly needs to work on driving the lane, and not just relying on his spot-up shooting.

"Sometimes I depend on the jump shot too much," said Thompson, in an interview last week. "I have to work on getting to the charity stripe. I can be one of the better scorers in the league if I can add something each year. I don't want to just be a guy that comes off screens for jump shots."

Luckily for Thompson, the Warriors employ one of the greatest shooting guards of all-time in Jerry West. The Logo turned executive has taken to working with Thompson on his offensive repertoire, and Klay's all ears.

"I listen to him whenever he's around," said Thompson. "Today, he talked to me about finishing with balance and getting to that stripe. He's one of the greatest guards to ever play the game."

From his vantage point, West sees a protege.

"He's had a really interesting summer," said West. "Last year, he was thrust into a very big role when Monta Ellis was traded. I told Klay this is his chance to live up to his potential."

"He's got it all as a scorer," West said. "He's got a great basketball mind."

Fellow Warrior Charles Jenkins spent the last month or so playing pickup ball with Thompson and some other teammates in Oakland. He said his backcourt mate has been taking it to the hole with a vengeance.

Bulls hockey takes it by the horns

You have to like the San Francisco Bulls hockey team for its slogan: Act like you got a pair.

It gets right to the heart of minor-league hockey, a sport rife with testosterone, moxie and self-deprecation.

All three were on display Friday night for the team's debut game at the Cow Palace.

Rawhide, the Bulls' mascot, was goofing on fans all over the place. A fight broke out on the ice within minutes of the first puck dropping. And the scorekeeper punched the "Goal!!!" button on the scoreboard before the Bulls had actually scored.

But all that didn't matter. With the NHL knuckleheads on the sidelines, hockey fans packed the Palace, and the game was a blast.

Sitting up in the stands was longtime San Francisco politician and judge Quentin Kopp. His wife, Mara, sits on the Cow Palace board of directors, so the renovations made by Bulls management are a good thing in his view. And Kopp happens to be a big hockey guy. He told me about his undergraduate days at Dartmouth, which featured an outdoor hockey arena back in the day.

He also told me about his most embarrassing moment as a politician. It was back in the days of the old San Francisco Shamrocks, one of the many minor-league hockey teams that have graced the Cow Palace over the years.

"I was on the Board of Supes," Kopp said. "They wanted me to drop the first puck. So, I did. But coming back to the bench, I went from being right on the ice to being right on my ass."

Good stuff all around with the San Francisco Bulls. As we mingled in the beer garden situated behind one of the goals, a puck slammed into the boards right in front of us. A few people flinched, and a few beers spilled.